Fic: Gossamer (17/18)
Mar. 14th, 2012 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sara_wolfTitle: Gossamer
Rating: PG
Warnings: some violence
Summary: "Paige, you're pregnant." Three weeks after her parents' death, Paige receives some surprising news. What she decides next will change the course of history, not only her own, but that of the family she doesn't even know exists...
*****
When the light faded, and Paige could see, again, she wasn't in Pax's bedroom, any longer. She was standing in the middle of Henry's living room. She looked around, wildly, still half-expecting to see Nick coming after her, but she was all alone in the dark apartment.
She let out a shuddering breath as she backed up, slowly, sinking down to sit on the couch. Pax was still curled against her chest, her eyes wide with shock, and Paige ran a shaking hand lightly over her little girl's curls to calm her down.
"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," she murmured, quietly. "I don't know how, but it's going to be okay."
A sudden noise had her looking up, startled, and she stared in horror at the dark figure that was coming at her. Then, Henry stepped out of the shadows, and she slumped back against the cushions in relief.
"Oh, god, Henry," she said, and her voice hitched on a sob. "I thought – I thought you were-"
"Paige?" Henry asked, incredulously. "Paige, it's the middle of the night; what are you doing here?" Looking over at the still-locked front door, he added, "How did you even get in?"
"I don't know," Paige told him. "One second I was standing in Pax's bedroom, and the next, I was here."
"Like Pax, when she does that light thing," Henry said, and Paige nodded.
"Sort of," she replied. "But, I don't think that Pax was the one who did it."
"You think that you-" Henry began.
"I don't know what to think," Paige told him, wearily. "Henry, Nick attacked me, tonight."
"What?" Henry exploded, and Pax shrank back against Paige's chest with a quiet whimper.
Henry immediately calmed down, lowering his voice as he crooned to Pax. The girl went to him when he held his arms out to her, and he settled her on his hip.
"I'm going to go put Pax down in my room," he told Paige, who just nodded, leaning tiredly back against the couch with her eyes closed.
The room was silent after he left, and Paige found her thoughts, whirling, wildly, over everything that she'd learned that night. It had been enough of a shock over the last year to discover that Pax possessed some kind of magical powers, that they both were angels, if Sister Agnes was to be believed – to find out, now, that her husband was a demon, that he killed people –
'I thought that what I was hiding from Nick was big,' she mused. 'Apparently, I didn't know the meaning of the word.'
She opened her eyes as the cushion beside her dipped down, and she saw Henry looking at her with a serious expression on his face.
"If Nick hit you-" he began, and Paige cut him off, knowing what he was going to say.
"We can't get the police involved," she insisted.
"Paige," Henry started, but she shook her head, determinedly.
"Trust me, Henry," she told him, "involving the police will only make things worse."
"How?" Henry demanded, baffled.
"Because Nick isn't human," Paige said, wearily. "He's a demon. He told me, himself."
"A what?" Henry asked, incredulously.
"He left Pax alone, tonight," Paige started, trying to explain everything that had happened. "And I went snooping in his office for answers, and I found some things-"
"What kind of things?" Henry prompted, gently, when she fell silent.
"A bowl caked with dried blood, a knife, and a bunch of really creepy other stuff," she told him, flatly. "And a book with names crossed out. One of them was Rachel Conway," she said, grimly, as his eyes narrowed in realization.
"Son of a bitch," he growled, and Paige nodded in agreement.
"How do you think I feel?" she retorted, darkly. "I married the son of a bitch, and all of this has been going on under my nose for God knows how long."
"You shouldn't blame yourself," Henry told her, automatically.
"I don't," Paige snapped. "I blame Nick." Changing tacks, she added, "What are we going to do, here? I'm not going to let that bastard get his hands on Pax, again."
"You called him a demon?" Henry asked. When Paige nodded, he added, "Well, if demons exist, doesn't it make sense that so would demon hunters?"
"Like what?" Paige demanded, incredulously. "The Archangel Gabriel coming down from the heavens with a flaming sword?"
"Maybe," Henry suggested, with a shrug. "Or, maybe, ordinary people with powers. People like you and Pax."
"What are we supposed to do?" Paige asked. "Take out an ad in the paper? Look for demon exterminators for hire?"
"Did you see anything in Nick's office that would help us?" Henry prompted, but Paige shook her head in frustration.
"Other than the tools he used to murder Rachel Conway?" she asked. "Nothing. If there are people who hunt demons, I doubt I'd find them in his address book, anyway."
"So, the first thing we're going to do," Henry continued, after thinking about it for a minute, "is get out of town, tonight. We'll go somewhere that Nick will never think to look for you or Pax, and then we'll figure out our next move from there."
"You'll never even make it out the front door," a familiar voice said, sneeringly.
Paige whirled around to see Nick and his brother, Duncan, standing in the doorway, furious expressions on their faces. Without thinking about it, she bolted down the hallway toward where Pax was sleeping, with Henry hot on her heels.
They'd almost made it when the room started spinning in front of Paige's eyes, black spots dancing in her vision. She staggered, falling heavily against the wall. Behind her, Henry crashed to the ground, and Paige wasn't too far behind him.
She managed to roll over as she fell, staring up at Nick in horror. Then, the world went black…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Cutting it rather close, aren't you?" Duncan asked, mockingly, as he strode up beside Nick and stared down at the unconscious couple in the hallway. "If you'd left them conscious any longer, they would have gotten to your daughter and escaped with her."
"How would they have escaped?" Nick asked, scornfully. "We're seven stories up."
"You're the one who said that your wife orbed out of your house," Duncan reminded his brother. "If she really is a Whitelighter's brat, then she's probably got all sorts of tricks up her sleeves."
"Not for long," Nick said, darkly. "When I get through with her-"
"Forget her," Duncan ordered, harshly, as his younger brother glared at him. "You called me to get your daughter away from your wife, after you screwed up and let her find out about you. We don't have time to punish her."
"She's mine," Nick insisted, stubbornly, and Duncan cuffed him, hard, on the back of the head.
"Focus," he snapped at him. "Get the girl; we'll deal with your wife and her little pet mortal, later."
Nick glared at him, again, but then he stepped over the couple's unconscious bodies and stalked toward where he could sense Pax. He was back a few seconds later with the sleeping child held safely in his arms.
"Now, let's get out of here," Duncan said, but Nick shook his head.
"No," he insisted. "We have to do this, right. I don't want any suspicion of this coming back on me, later."
"So, what do you suggest?" Duncan asked. "We can't kill them, there would be too many questions coming your way. We can't afford that kind of exposure."
"We're not going to kill them," Nick said, glaring down at Paige's crumpled form. "Not yet, anyway. Might kill the mortal later, just for fun-"
"Focus, little brother," Duncan said, firmly. "How do you want to get Paxton away from your wife without raising suspicions?"
"I'm going to erase Paige's memory of everything that she's learned, tonight," Nick told him, and Duncan snorted out a dry laugh.
"With the way you've been riffling through her mind for the last year," he commented, "her brain is going to resemble Swiss cheese."
"Going to erase her memories," Nick went on, ignoring Duncan's interruption, "and take her home. Tomorrow, Paige has a play date planned with that stupid Mommy and Me group she belongs to, out at Golden Gate Park. We'll simply wait for an opportune moment, and then spirit Pax away from Paige."
"And everyone will think that your daughter was kidnapped," Duncan finished for him, a satisfied tone in his voice. "You'll play the grieving father in public, and you'll be able to groom your daughter to follow our family's legacy, away from certain poisonous influences."
"Exactly," Nick said. "Here, take Pax for a moment."
He passed his sleeping daughter over to Duncan, and then he crouched down beside Paige and Henry. He placed a hand on each of their foreheads, closing his eyes in concentration. Manipulating people's minds was like child's play to him, but even he had his limits, and hunting down specific memories in two people at once was testing his limits. People's minds weren't calm and orderly; memories weren't linear. Instead, thoughts were jumbles of pure chaos, and he had to painstakingly search in order to catch glimpses of the memories he was looking for.
From the mortal's mind, he caught snatches of memories involving Paige, overlaid with strong emotions that made Nick's lip curl with disgust and anger. But, he pushed the feelings aside; some day, he'd finally do away with the mortal, forever, and greatly enjoy it.
From Paige's mind, he primarily caught glimpses of their earlier encounter; dwelling on it even in her unconscious state. There was also a majestic church, and enormous, white wings, and a sad-eyed man and a woman with dark hair.
He erased any memories he found of that night, taking time to make sure that he left nothing behind. Then, he pulled Paige over his shoulder in a firefighter's carry, straightening up and turning his attention to Duncan.
"Dump him on his bed," he said, kicking the still-unconscious mortal in the ribs. "Don't want him getting suspicious."
Duncan waved a hand, making the mortal disappear in a hazy shimmer. Then, the two of them shimmered out of the apartment with their burdens, leaving the place dark behind them.
Continued here
Rating: PG
Warnings: some violence
Summary: "Paige, you're pregnant." Three weeks after her parents' death, Paige receives some surprising news. What she decides next will change the course of history, not only her own, but that of the family she doesn't even know exists...
*****
When the light faded, and Paige could see, again, she wasn't in Pax's bedroom, any longer. She was standing in the middle of Henry's living room. She looked around, wildly, still half-expecting to see Nick coming after her, but she was all alone in the dark apartment.
She let out a shuddering breath as she backed up, slowly, sinking down to sit on the couch. Pax was still curled against her chest, her eyes wide with shock, and Paige ran a shaking hand lightly over her little girl's curls to calm her down.
"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," she murmured, quietly. "I don't know how, but it's going to be okay."
A sudden noise had her looking up, startled, and she stared in horror at the dark figure that was coming at her. Then, Henry stepped out of the shadows, and she slumped back against the cushions in relief.
"Oh, god, Henry," she said, and her voice hitched on a sob. "I thought – I thought you were-"
"Paige?" Henry asked, incredulously. "Paige, it's the middle of the night; what are you doing here?" Looking over at the still-locked front door, he added, "How did you even get in?"
"I don't know," Paige told him. "One second I was standing in Pax's bedroom, and the next, I was here."
"Like Pax, when she does that light thing," Henry said, and Paige nodded.
"Sort of," she replied. "But, I don't think that Pax was the one who did it."
"You think that you-" Henry began.
"I don't know what to think," Paige told him, wearily. "Henry, Nick attacked me, tonight."
"What?" Henry exploded, and Pax shrank back against Paige's chest with a quiet whimper.
Henry immediately calmed down, lowering his voice as he crooned to Pax. The girl went to him when he held his arms out to her, and he settled her on his hip.
"I'm going to go put Pax down in my room," he told Paige, who just nodded, leaning tiredly back against the couch with her eyes closed.
The room was silent after he left, and Paige found her thoughts, whirling, wildly, over everything that she'd learned that night. It had been enough of a shock over the last year to discover that Pax possessed some kind of magical powers, that they both were angels, if Sister Agnes was to be believed – to find out, now, that her husband was a demon, that he killed people –
'I thought that what I was hiding from Nick was big,' she mused. 'Apparently, I didn't know the meaning of the word.'
She opened her eyes as the cushion beside her dipped down, and she saw Henry looking at her with a serious expression on his face.
"If Nick hit you-" he began, and Paige cut him off, knowing what he was going to say.
"We can't get the police involved," she insisted.
"Paige," Henry started, but she shook her head, determinedly.
"Trust me, Henry," she told him, "involving the police will only make things worse."
"How?" Henry demanded, baffled.
"Because Nick isn't human," Paige said, wearily. "He's a demon. He told me, himself."
"A what?" Henry asked, incredulously.
"He left Pax alone, tonight," Paige started, trying to explain everything that had happened. "And I went snooping in his office for answers, and I found some things-"
"What kind of things?" Henry prompted, gently, when she fell silent.
"A bowl caked with dried blood, a knife, and a bunch of really creepy other stuff," she told him, flatly. "And a book with names crossed out. One of them was Rachel Conway," she said, grimly, as his eyes narrowed in realization.
"Son of a bitch," he growled, and Paige nodded in agreement.
"How do you think I feel?" she retorted, darkly. "I married the son of a bitch, and all of this has been going on under my nose for God knows how long."
"You shouldn't blame yourself," Henry told her, automatically.
"I don't," Paige snapped. "I blame Nick." Changing tacks, she added, "What are we going to do, here? I'm not going to let that bastard get his hands on Pax, again."
"You called him a demon?" Henry asked. When Paige nodded, he added, "Well, if demons exist, doesn't it make sense that so would demon hunters?"
"Like what?" Paige demanded, incredulously. "The Archangel Gabriel coming down from the heavens with a flaming sword?"
"Maybe," Henry suggested, with a shrug. "Or, maybe, ordinary people with powers. People like you and Pax."
"What are we supposed to do?" Paige asked. "Take out an ad in the paper? Look for demon exterminators for hire?"
"Did you see anything in Nick's office that would help us?" Henry prompted, but Paige shook her head in frustration.
"Other than the tools he used to murder Rachel Conway?" she asked. "Nothing. If there are people who hunt demons, I doubt I'd find them in his address book, anyway."
"So, the first thing we're going to do," Henry continued, after thinking about it for a minute, "is get out of town, tonight. We'll go somewhere that Nick will never think to look for you or Pax, and then we'll figure out our next move from there."
"You'll never even make it out the front door," a familiar voice said, sneeringly.
Paige whirled around to see Nick and his brother, Duncan, standing in the doorway, furious expressions on their faces. Without thinking about it, she bolted down the hallway toward where Pax was sleeping, with Henry hot on her heels.
They'd almost made it when the room started spinning in front of Paige's eyes, black spots dancing in her vision. She staggered, falling heavily against the wall. Behind her, Henry crashed to the ground, and Paige wasn't too far behind him.
She managed to roll over as she fell, staring up at Nick in horror. Then, the world went black…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Cutting it rather close, aren't you?" Duncan asked, mockingly, as he strode up beside Nick and stared down at the unconscious couple in the hallway. "If you'd left them conscious any longer, they would have gotten to your daughter and escaped with her."
"How would they have escaped?" Nick asked, scornfully. "We're seven stories up."
"You're the one who said that your wife orbed out of your house," Duncan reminded his brother. "If she really is a Whitelighter's brat, then she's probably got all sorts of tricks up her sleeves."
"Not for long," Nick said, darkly. "When I get through with her-"
"Forget her," Duncan ordered, harshly, as his younger brother glared at him. "You called me to get your daughter away from your wife, after you screwed up and let her find out about you. We don't have time to punish her."
"She's mine," Nick insisted, stubbornly, and Duncan cuffed him, hard, on the back of the head.
"Focus," he snapped at him. "Get the girl; we'll deal with your wife and her little pet mortal, later."
Nick glared at him, again, but then he stepped over the couple's unconscious bodies and stalked toward where he could sense Pax. He was back a few seconds later with the sleeping child held safely in his arms.
"Now, let's get out of here," Duncan said, but Nick shook his head.
"No," he insisted. "We have to do this, right. I don't want any suspicion of this coming back on me, later."
"So, what do you suggest?" Duncan asked. "We can't kill them, there would be too many questions coming your way. We can't afford that kind of exposure."
"We're not going to kill them," Nick said, glaring down at Paige's crumpled form. "Not yet, anyway. Might kill the mortal later, just for fun-"
"Focus, little brother," Duncan said, firmly. "How do you want to get Paxton away from your wife without raising suspicions?"
"I'm going to erase Paige's memory of everything that she's learned, tonight," Nick told him, and Duncan snorted out a dry laugh.
"With the way you've been riffling through her mind for the last year," he commented, "her brain is going to resemble Swiss cheese."
"Going to erase her memories," Nick went on, ignoring Duncan's interruption, "and take her home. Tomorrow, Paige has a play date planned with that stupid Mommy and Me group she belongs to, out at Golden Gate Park. We'll simply wait for an opportune moment, and then spirit Pax away from Paige."
"And everyone will think that your daughter was kidnapped," Duncan finished for him, a satisfied tone in his voice. "You'll play the grieving father in public, and you'll be able to groom your daughter to follow our family's legacy, away from certain poisonous influences."
"Exactly," Nick said. "Here, take Pax for a moment."
He passed his sleeping daughter over to Duncan, and then he crouched down beside Paige and Henry. He placed a hand on each of their foreheads, closing his eyes in concentration. Manipulating people's minds was like child's play to him, but even he had his limits, and hunting down specific memories in two people at once was testing his limits. People's minds weren't calm and orderly; memories weren't linear. Instead, thoughts were jumbles of pure chaos, and he had to painstakingly search in order to catch glimpses of the memories he was looking for.
From the mortal's mind, he caught snatches of memories involving Paige, overlaid with strong emotions that made Nick's lip curl with disgust and anger. But, he pushed the feelings aside; some day, he'd finally do away with the mortal, forever, and greatly enjoy it.
From Paige's mind, he primarily caught glimpses of their earlier encounter; dwelling on it even in her unconscious state. There was also a majestic church, and enormous, white wings, and a sad-eyed man and a woman with dark hair.
He erased any memories he found of that night, taking time to make sure that he left nothing behind. Then, he pulled Paige over his shoulder in a firefighter's carry, straightening up and turning his attention to Duncan.
"Dump him on his bed," he said, kicking the still-unconscious mortal in the ribs. "Don't want him getting suspicious."
Duncan waved a hand, making the mortal disappear in a hazy shimmer. Then, the two of them shimmered out of the apartment with their burdens, leaving the place dark behind them.
Continued here
